1. Today What is “research design?” Dimension of research
Theoretic / practical use
Purpose of research
The Time Dimension
Technique of data collection
Units of Analysis
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2. Research Method
The research method is used to gather information that would benefit society either through direct application of findings to the amelioration of social ills or through the use of findings to test theoretical issues in social sciences
Social researchers often choose problem areas that they feel of particular relevance for their own lives.
-- members of minority groups study race relations, stereotypes
--- females– sex roles. Etc .
Me- as an international student and user of CMC
Process that helps us determine how to conduct scientific inquiry.
Should specify “what you want to study” clearly
Find answers to what – from whom – when – how – why ... Questions.
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3. Dimension of Research Research comes in multiple sizes and shapes.
These DIMENSIONS are decision points.
If you look at only one academic journal --- will realize that actually there are countless techniques of empirical research inquiry
A sw e will see --- These dimesnions may overlap.
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4. How research is used Basic (pure) Research
Addresses fundamental questions about the nature of behavior/social worlds.
Gaining knowledge for knowledge’s sake.
Motivation is “understanding”
How do people perceive individual differences
Forgetting rates are comparable in conscious and automatic memory:
Often tests theories of behavior
Traditioanally - there has been two camps in orientation to science:
Some adopt a more detached, scientific, academic orientation
Others - more activist, practical, reform oriented.
NOT A RIGID SEPARATION.
THİS DİFFERNECE İS ON HOW TO USE RESEARCH ---
ADVANCE GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OR SOLVE SPECIFIC PROBLEMS.
Research can be roughly classified as basic (pure) and applied
Basic research – involves developing and testing theories and hypotheses that are intellecutally interesting to the resarcher, might have some social applicaitons in the future, but no intention of social applicaiton at the present time.
Mostly tests hypotheses containing very abstract and specialized concepts.– requires a thorough lit review and knowledge of previous lit – and gap in previous research.
Refute/support theories.
In most cases--- provide the bases (ideas, tools, methods) for further applied research.
Ex: studied AIDS in chickens for years --- later- advances in AIDS virus.
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5. Basic vs. Applied Research
Addresses issues in which there are practical problems and potential solutions
Put knowledge into practice.
Motivation is “application”
E.g. product marketing, social interventions, policy development
Does the death penalty reduce murder rates?
What is the best way to reduce drop out in southeastern parts of turkey ?
Often guided by basic theory and research
Deals with problems – present.
Often entails in large scale studies with subsequent data collection problems.
How can we ensure equality in classroom
Advertising and the news: Does advertising campaign information in news stories improve the memory of subsequent advertisements?
Medical and psychological effects of family planning.
Role of family in rearing children.
Expensive.
Usually conducted by the support of a funding agency.
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6. Research Approaches
Think of this is as a continuum rather as two separate categories.
Actually these two coategories are no mutually exclusive.
Cannot say that id a study is basic- it cannot have practical applications – and vice versa.
Most- researchers should contribute to theoretical social science literature but also study issues that are helpful in solving social problems.
Findings of basic research may be translated into applied research, not necessairly by the same people.
Ex: Hecht – had subjects sit in dark rooms, staring at red lights-
was studying how visual system adapts to darkness
Later applied work by other researchers – drived from this work –
Study of night blindness due to vitamin deficiency.
?? THINK ABOUT EXAMPLES:
Although usually basic research leads to applied researc, sometimes the reverse can oocur.
Sometimes, practitioners (not even scientists per se) systematically figure out some methods that work
(selling- perusasion techniques).
Later theoraticians work to test these applications, following systematic procedures, and try to explain the phenomenon...
IN MOST CASES RESEARCH CANNOT BE STRİCTLY DIVIDED INTO BASIC OR APPLIED
FINDINGS OF A STUDY MAY CONTRIBUTE BOTH TO OUR BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM AND AN IMMEDIATE APPLICATION.
Basic research
Applied research
Often applied work may bring up some interesting basic theoretical questions, and basic theory often informs applied work.
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7. Objectives of social research
Exploration – bunu tercih et- descriptive/association karisiyor
Description
May describe one variable/phenomenon or an association between variables/phenomena
Explanation
That means you should be establishing
(i) an association between variables;
(ii) a temporal order between a cause and an effect; and
(iii) that the association is not spurious.
Exploration is the:
First investigation of a topic
Initial phase of a larger project
Exploring what may constitute relevant aspects of a phenomenon
Disadvantages
Does not provide conclusive answers
Description
Advantages
Describing a phenomenon (e.g., voting behavior)
Describing a group of people (e.g., delinquent adolescents)
Describing an institution (e.g., religious schools)
Usually followed by explanatory research
Explanation
Why? & How?
Most frequent objective in the real research world
do not confuse with experiments
You can assume explanation with non experimental research too– though they may be limited.
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8. Purpose of Research Broad research approaches
Descriptive – how things are
Relational – how things are in relation to other things
Experimental – how things are and how they got to be that way (why)
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9. Descriptive research Research for describing situations and events.
Systematic observation. Report on the background or context of a situation.
Answer questions of what, where, when, how
Exploratory study.
E.g. Study children’s failure in school
Goal is a sytematic mapping out of the phenomena-- usually called an EXPLORATORY study
Describe – what is happening.
İf any causal explanations – speculative.
Usually the first step in research
Rarely regarded as sufficient.
e.g. Study children’s failure-
Observe and describe, what children are doing. Can come up with suggestions – but no emprical testing.
Advantages
Describing a phenomenon (e.g., voting behavior)
Describing a group of people (e.g., delinquent adolescents)
Describing an institution (e.g., religious schools)
Disadvantages
Usually followed by explanatory research
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10. Relational Research
Research for discovering relations between/among variables.
2 or more variables/conditions.
Series of coordinated observations.
Strength and direction of relation.
E.g. Children’s failure is related to teachers’ behaviors.
When 2 or more variables/conditons are measured and related to one another.
e.g. Children’s failure is related to teachers’ behaviors.
ignorei no eye contacti no attention etc.
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11. Explanation Research for explaining situations and events.
Systematic data collection
Answer questions of why
E.g. Children learn less because they are taught less.
Most frequent objective in the real research world
Purpose is to find causes
Relational only --- is it teachers or children casuing the other to behave in that way?
Experiment:
Take two gorups of studnets-- - radomlt allocate to two groups.
Teacher – give more and less information ---assess their learning.
Self fullfillling prophecy
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12. Examples
College students made to feel anxious were less enthusiastic in participating research than those who are not made feel anxious.
University students are the most widely used research participants in psychological studies
Volunteer subjects tend to be higher in the need of social approval than nonvolunteer subjects.
When a 2 year old child listens to a message spoken by his mother and is asked to repeat it, the child typically repeats only a part of the message
Will realize that LANGUAGE IS DIFFERENT
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13. Journal of social issues
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14. The Time Dimension Cross-sectional studies Longitudinal studies
Single snap-shot
Causality is very difficult (impossible) to establish
Longitudinal studies
Repeat observations over a period of time
Problem of selective attrition
Studies also differ in the way they deal with time.
Time plays an important role in the design and execution of research. --- affects interpretations and generalizablity.
Many explanatory studies are cross-sectional ---
Study a cross section of a population at a SINGLE POINT in time.
Different ages, different educational and income levels, different religons etc.
Usually try to make causal inferences even thought have no time dimension.
Make inferences about the relative occurrence of variables. Sometimes it may not be as easy.
Educational level – poor neighborhoods – which comes first?
Longitudinal: study of units over time – observations of the same phenomenon over a period of time.
Data gathered over an extensive periof of time. – several weeks of months, years.
Many field research and in –depth interviews are – longitudinal in nature – ask the history of the person – relationships…
Inferences or relying on individuals self reports about their histories may be problematic. ASK (confirmation bias – reconstruction of memory)
Problem of selective attrition: some of the respondents studied in one wave may not participate in later waves--- this attrition may not be random --- can result in biased findings. Ex: school dropouts.
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15. Cross-sectional design
The Structure of a Cross-Sectional Research Design. Three separate groups of participants are selected to represent three different ages.
Cross-sectional designs- faster and cheaper method
Can test many age groups simultaneously
OK for studying subjectmatter that does not change over time.
Cannot capture process/change.
Participants are not required to commit for an extended period of time
Example – cheating by college students.
But have the potentially confounding effects of cohorts
Shared life experiences of people of a given age that lead them to behave similarly to others their age and different from people of other ages
E.g., People who experienced the 2nd WW, Crisis in 1920s
Individuals are not followed over time
Cohort (or generation) effect: individuals of different ages may be inherently different due to factors in the environment
Example: are 5 year old different from 13 year olds just because of age, or can factors present in their environment contribute to the differences?
Cannot infer causality due to lack of control
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16. Longitudinal designs PSYC/SOCI 201 PSYC/SOCI 201 Spring 2007
The Structure of a Longitudinal Research Design. One group of participants is measured at different times as the participants age.
Rather than comparing groups, the same individuals are compared to themselves at different times
Repeated measurements over extended period of time
Should be preferred to study phenomena that change over time –
Attitudinal changes by education.
Study the same people as they grow older
Ex: Find the same people when they are 30, 50, and 70
Examine changes with age
Expensive and difficult
Advantages:
Can see developmental changes clearly
Avoid some cohort effects (participants are all from same generation, so changes are more likely to be due to aging)
Can measure differences within individuals
Disadvantages
Can be very time-consuming
Can have cross-generational effects:
Conclusions based on members of one generation may not apply to other generations
Numerous threats to internal validity:
Attrition/mortality
History
Practice effects
Improved performance over multiple tests may be due to practice taking the test
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17. Longitudinal Designs
Trend studies – repeat observations of a group defined by their current status (e.g. residents of Istanbul)
Panel studies – repeat observations of a group who has been observed before
Cohort studies – repeat observations of a group defined by having done something at the same time (e.g., birth cohort, marriage cohort)
Best method to understand causal relations but most difficult: time – money – human limitations.
3 types: trend: examine changes within a population over time. Istanbul residents in early 1900s and now.
panel: follow same group of people over time. Koc university students - class of 2004
Cohort: a specific group (cohort) is followed throughout time – not the same people – but same cohort – people who share a common experience.. Those born in 1960s – gather data in from different people that belong to the same cohort.
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18. Example Attitudes toward abortion Panel Study Trend Study
100 turkish people aged 20 in 1980, 1990, 2000
Wave years
Wave 2 – 30 years
Wave 3 – 40 years.
Wave 2 – 20 years
Wave 3 – 20 years.
Panel
Study
Age effect --- developmental
Culture effect---
Trend
Study
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19. Technique of data collection
Quantitative data make observations explicit and measurable.
Numerical
Allows the use of statistical analysis
Potential of loosing the richness of meaning
Collect data in the form of numbers ---- or convert data to numbers.
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20. Quantitative Data : Survey Example
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21. SPSS database
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22. SPSS Database
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23. SPSS- Output
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24. Technique of data collection
Qualitative data are meaningful within their context
Non-numerical
Able to recognize the spectrum of a concept/construct
Potential of ambiguity
Collect data in the form of texts, words, pictures
In detail later.
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25. Qualitative Data : In –depth interview guidelines
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26. Transcription
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27. Units of Analysis What or whom to study: Individuals Groups
Organizations
Social artifacts
Social sciences study individuals and their contexts.
WHAT/WHO ARE WE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND EXPLAIN.
Gather info about characteristics of individual people – (age- education level – TV watching habits) then combine to get a composite picture of the group those individuals represent.
Mostly – very easy to determine. But sometimes some studies try to describe –examine more than one unit of analysis. Different conclusions for each unit.
Individuals: most typical u of a
Can describe and explain social groups and interactions by aggregating and manipulating the descriptions of individuals.
Some population of individuals – makes, university students, 30 year old married women, faculty members.
Descriptive – just the characteristics of that population
Explanatory- social dynamics operating within that population.
We are seeking to describe the characteristics of individuals – then aggregate these individuals and make generalizations about the population they belong to.
Groups. It is the group that we are trying to explain. Characteristics of one group --- as a single entity.
Different SES groups ---
Family size – education of children --- nuclear families – extended families.
Friendship cliques, couples, cities, countries, geographical reasons - households
Organizations. Formal organizations – corporations, colleges, academic departments.
Social artifacts: any product of social beings or their behavior. Can be concrete objects- buildings – projects- books – photos-newspapers or more abstract terms – gender roles –
Or social interactions – dyadic relations – arrests - weddings – concerts – friendship choices- Accidents – divorce .
Geographic regions: neighborhoods – towns – cities etc.
No matter how you call them --- should be specific about what you are studying – how you want to generalize your findings –ex: corporate types or corporate executive ; crimes or criminals. Determines your analysis and generalizations.
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28. Units of Analysis Individuals Groups Test scores of males vs. females
Effects of SES on preference for number of children
Factors influencing specific voting behaviors
Groups
Dissolution of street gangs
Quality of communication in opposite-sex couples
Cohesion of classes of students
Conflict resolution strategies of a couple (husband-wife)
Social research also varies by the unit of analysis.
e.g. Personality, learning --- use the individual as the unit of analysis
Different chrc.s of individuals are studied. –
İn each case, the units from which the study sample is drawn consist of a population of persons.
Unit of analysis --- groups
Perspective, subject matter to be studied, approach – all determine the unit of analysis.
e.g. Death –
Adjustment to death – where collect data from terminally ill individuals --- unit of analysis is individuals
Country comparisons (leve lof urbanization) of death rates --- unit of analysis is groups. – the entire country.
Large scale research –compare large aggregates of data. macro research . Mostly sociology.
Study individuals --- micro research
No consensus on the bordeline between micro and macro.
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29. Units of Analysis Organizations Social artifacts
War-proneness of countries
Fundamentalism of churches
Sex discrimination practices of corporations
Social artifacts
Effects of economic conditions on topics of literary works
Custody decisions in divorce cases
Social research also varies by the unit of analysis.
e.g. Personality, learning --- use the individual as the unit of analysis
Different chrc.s of individuals are studied. –
İn each case, the units from which the study sample is drawn consist of a population of persons.
Unit of analysis --- groups
Perspective, subject matter to be studied, approach – all determine the unit of analysis.
e.g. Death –
Adjustment to death – where collect data from terminally ill individuals --- unit of analysis is individuals
Country comparisons (leve lof urbanization) of death rates --- unit of analysis is groups. – the entire country.
Large scale research –compare large aggregates of data. macro research . Mostly sociology.
Study individuals --- micro research
No consensus on the bordeline between micro and macro.
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30. Example
Examining factors that lead police officers to engage in various behaviors:
Providing service (e.g. assisting motorcyclists)
Making arrests
Employing force on suspects.
4 categories of determinants of police behavior
Reviewd 40 studies ---- that examined factors predicting police officer behaviors.
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31. Example Individual differences Immediate interpersonal situation
Gender, racial attitude, skill
Immediate interpersonal situation
Number of officers, suspect’s conduct, bystanders, weapon
Organizational
Department policy, specialized unit (e.g. narcotics)
Community
Ethnic composition of the community
Each one of this is a level of EXPLANATION-
ESP in applied research -- - at what level to intervene.
Individual differences (officer characteristics)
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